Canonteign Falls

As we were preparing to leave Devon, we made a final stop at the Canonteign Falls near Exeter. Home to England’s highest man-made waterfall, Canonteign Falls is a magnificent example of a Victorian folly set in a magical natural paradise. The waterfalls themselves descend for over 70 metres.

The falls were built in 1890

The falls are accessible by climbing 90 Victorian steps, and from bottom to top takes around an hour.

Section of the Victorian steps

The falls were built by local miners under the direction of the 3rd Lady Exmouth after they had been made redundant from the estate’s silver mines. The climb is steep in places, but there are plenty of spots on which to rest admire the views. Tilly scampered up like a mountain goat!

Unfurling fern

And if you’re prepared to risk your camera falling into the water, you can manage to snatch a group photo at the top.

The Magnificent Seven (and a half)

** please note that the scheduled post will appear after the Easter weekend on Tuesday, 23 April **

Post navigation

10 thoughts on “Canonteign Falls”

WOW that is very impressive for a man made waterfall. In some ways Lady Exmouth was being quite socially responsible, creating jobs & providing for the environment. In true Canadian fashion, I saw the unfurling fern & thought umm fiddleheads for dinner!

In early spring, we get fresh fiddleheads which are the unfurled tip of the fern. It is a very short harvest period because if too unfurled, not safe to eat. And I believe only certain types of ferns, ones that grow here in Canada such as Ostrich & Cinnamon Fern. You cook them briefly as a stir fry with a little butter & oh so tasty. 🙂 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiddlehead_fern